Styling
In the previous generation of Peugeot's biggest two SUVs, visually they were almost identical - in that a 5008 was basically a long-wheelbase 3008. This time around, however, the smaller, five-seat
3008 has become a coupe-SUV, so the estate-bodied 5008 is our preferred aesthetic option. Sure, it shares much with the 3008 up to the A-pillars, but the longer roof and upright tailgate give the 5008 a more pleasant overall shape, without it becoming prosaic in the process. With a 2,900mm wheelbase (a stretch of 161mm over that of a 3008) mixed in, the stance of the 5008 is just so and, visually, it looks barely any different as a Hybrid 136 as it does as an E-5008. It makes do without the (perhaps a little too fussy) asymmetrical 20-inch alloys of the electric model - which are aerodynamically optimised to promote range - the Hybrid instead rolling on simpler 19-inch 'Yari' rims, while at the back there's a model-specific designator on the bottom-right corner of the tailgate. But other than that, the 5008 Hybrid looks grand, it looks expensive and it looks, in our opinion, pretty damned good as these larger seven-seat SUVs tend to go.
Interior
As on the outside, where the two Peugeots look almost identical, the Hybrid 136 has the same top-notch interior as an E-5008, replete with the fabric surfaces that highlight the beltline of the fascia and door cards, and the upper surface of the transmission tunnel too. Topped off with the largely excellent - not perfect, by any means, but very, very good as these things go - 21-inch Panoramic iCockpit digital interface plus the bank of iToggles configurable 'button' touchpads, the 5008's cabin is a pleasing blend of the technological mixed with a homely, welcoming ambience. Obviously, as with every modern-era Peugeot, you need to make sure you get on with the tiny, low-set steering wheel and associated driving position, but if you can find a good set-up in the driver's seat, there's then precious little to complain about with the SUV's passenger compartment. It's arguably the vehicle's strongest feature.
Practicality
The 5008 has a useful amount of space in the boot with all seven seats in use, an absolute cavern with the front five seats in play and van-like carrying capability if you configure it to two-seat mode, so the first box of the practicality scorecard is emphatically ticked. When it comes to seating, there's a usual seven-seat SUV lament - which is that the third row is small and not for taller passengers - but in general there's plenty of room for plenty of people to get comfortable onboard. It's a shame the middle-row seat bases don't all slide individually, as they did in the preceding 5008, yet that's a minor gripe and there's plenty of adjustability to the passenger/cargo trade-off in the cabin so the Peugeot continues to impress in this regard. And then, when you factor in the handy storage solutions up front in the cockpit area, you realise that the 5008 Hybrid is one of the better seven-seaters when it comes to being as family-friendly as possible.
Performance
Ostensibly, the Hybrid is quite some way down the pecking order compared to the E-5008, as reflected in a price difference of about £9,000 between the cheapest versions of each, plus the difference in potency. With the Long Range, 231hp E-5008 still to land and the Dual Motor 326hp model due to arrive in dealerships soon, the solitary EV variant of the seven-seat SUV has 213hp and 345Nm, considerably in advance of the Hybrid's peaks of 136hp and 230Nm. But that doesn't tell the whole story, because - while the French company will not quote the combined figures from the drivetrain - there's a 16kW electric motor at play in the Hybrid 136, which brings its own 22hp and 51Nm to proceedings. At the very least, the e-motor's maximum torque is being delivered at the same rev point as the 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbo petrol engine comes on song, so 281Nm seems a more reasonable headline figure, even if we can't corroborate the same thing for horsepower (so we're not going to say this model has 158hp).
But it feels strong enough for the enhanced figures to be believable. Any concerns that a combustion engine of such diminutive swept capacity would have a problem shifting the bulk of a seven-seat SUV around are soon lost when you're driving it, where it feels lively at low revs, reasonably strong in the midrange and, curiously, happy to spin right out to its redline without getting all breathless and wan. The on-paper 11.3-second 0-62mph time might suggest slovenly behaviour from the 5008 Hybrid when you're driving it, yet it never comes across that way. Sure, the e-DSC6 dual-clutch transmission isn't the last word for the brilliance of automatic gearboxes, but it's more than swift enough for most of the time to ensure that - along with the e-motor's torque infill - you don't experience huge amounts of lag when you ask the Peugeot for meaningful operation. The three-pot engine is also aurally interesting, too, and smooth in terms of few vibrations from it ever get to permeate their way into the passenger compartment.
Better still is the 'brain-off' way you run the 5008, whereas in the E-5008 you're constantly thinking about range. Not so the petrol-electric Hybrid, which easily did 314 miles on test with us and still had about a quarter of its tank available at the end of it, returning an impressive overall economy of 41.4mpg at a slow(ish) average speed of 32mph. So it should prove suitably efficient to run in the long term, when owners will be driving the Peugeot across a mixed array of roads and in all climatic conditions. We know 'range anxiety' in EVs is less of a thing these days, but still - we preferred being in the 5008 Hybrid to the E-5008 because we could just forget about the distance-to-empty reading in its instrument cluster and instead enjoy the ride.
Ride & Handling
One of the main reasons the Hybrid 5008 probably feels fairly responsive and swift, considering its published power and torque outputs, when compared with the 213hp E-5008 is something that helps with the petrol-electric model's handling prowess too: weight. Put simply, there is a colossal 396kg difference between this Hybrid 136 (1,822kg) and the existing electric SUV (2,218kg), which is alarming when you remember the 73kWh, single-motor E-5008 currently on sale will be lighter than the other two EV derivatives which will follow it.
This is why the 5008 Hybrid 136 feels so much more limber and agile in the corners than its zero-emission relation, even if we're not about to suggest the petrol-powered SUV is some sort of revelatory driving experience in the wider automotive sphere. The tiny steering wheel and accurate, quick set-up it controls do help to give it a feel of eagerness at the nose, but to suggest you'd ever get a thrill out of driving the Hybrid 136 quickly along one of your favourite roads would be pushing it somewhat. Its handling is good, rather than exemplary, but that does also translate to superb body control and therefore a comfortable ride. Running on its 19-inch wheels with bigger sidewalls and coming in at 1.8 tonnes, the Hybrid is lighter of tread than the E-5008 and so it deals with roughed-up B-road surfaces that bit better, smoothing them out with highly effective damping. It's also admirably hushed at motorway speeds, in terms of the subdued nature of all engine, suspension, tyre and wind noise, and can happily cruise along sedately for long distances without becoming tiring or loud; one of the features helping it in this regard is an acoustic-glass windscreen. So the Hybrid 136 is pretty much perfect, then, for what a laid-back family SUV like this needs to achieve as its primary transportation priority.
Value
The Peugeot 5008 range starts at less than £40,000 for this Hybrid 136 in Allure specification, but for a nicer, more appealing GT like our test car then you're looking at £42,770. An absolute wealth of kit is fitted to it for that money, too, including highlights such as adaptive cruise control, tri-zone climate control, keyless entry and go, a frameless Electrochrome rear-view mirror, the 21-inch infotainment system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, a 15-watt wireless smartphone charging pad, heated front seats, part-Alcantara upholstery, front and rear parking sensors with a reversing camera, eight-colour ambient interior lighting, and LED exterior lighting including the 'Claw Effect' daytime running lights all part of a generous bundle. You even get a metallic paint, Ingaro Blue (as equipped on our test car), for free, but other metallic shades are £750 apiece, while other options like advanced grip control (£300), Nappa 'Mistral' full black perforated leather trim with powered front seats (£1,800), a panoramic and opening sunroof (£950) and towbar (£600) can push the price further upstream. Our example was fitted with the 360-Degree Vision & Drive Assist Pack, for £600, which brings in a blind-spot monitoring indicator plus long-range blind-spot monitoring, Rear Cross-Traffic Alert, Highway Assist 2.0, a four-camera 360-degree surround-view system, flank guard protection, and door mirrors with reverse-gear indexing to the tech party. All told, our test 5008 was therefore £43,370 - but that's still usefully cheaper than the £48,660 required to get into the base-spec, no-options cheapest version of the E-5008, at the end of the day.
Verdict
As we stated at the very top of this piece, we've found in other Stellantis model lines recently, not just other
Peugeots, that we tend to prefer this Hybrid 136 drivetrain to the electric alternative. And that's normally when the hybrid and the EV are of similar power outputs; here in the 5008 family, the Hybrid 136 is a long way off the supposed grunt of the E-5008. But the greater ease-of-use that the petrol-electric SUV brings to the fore, plus its pleasingly slick driving manners and engaging drivetrain, again see us coming down on the side of the part-electric Pug instead of the fully electric version. The fact you can get one, with all of the 5008's seven-seat practicality and svelte exterior styling preserved, in a higher spec with some choice options for a good £5,290 less than even the most stripped-back electric variant only goes to seal the deal. Of all the current-generation (E-)5008s we've driven so far, then without ever doing anything spectacular it is still the case that this Hybrid 136 GT is undoubtedly the best.
